❝There is a fine line between love and lust. So tell me, Theodore, on which side is it you stand?❞
- in which Judith Almeida falls helplessly for the one she proclaims to hate most
(Fem oc x Theodore Laurence)
(Little Women)
𝐉ude never imagined the day would come when adulthood finally caught up and one of them would be swept up into marriage. Call her a fool, but she never imagined she'd grow old. Of course, it was inevitable but she never pictured a life outside of the bright summers within the March household. She had hoped she'd either die off before then or remain a child forever in ignorance of the true frost of the world around her. But those hopes will remain a fantasy now left behind with her childhood, for she was entering adulthood and Meg was to be married.
Their fun and games were over.
Of course, Jude was happy for Meg. She had been ecstatic when she heard the news that Mr. Brooke had proposed and insisted Aunt March help her plan the perfect wedding for her eldest cousin. It made her think of her own life and what she wanted out of it. If there was one thing she knew about herself, it was that she simply did not enjoy being paraded off as a prize to be won by suitors. So life in fame was simply ruled out for she can hardly handle the false affection of one man let alone hundreds. That meant no acting, no stage singing, and no writing. Nothing that put her face beyond her own grasp. She was of middling talent in dancing and art would get her nowhere. So it was determined that beyond her voice, Jude was nothing. Laurie liked to argue with that statement of course, but the girl was stubborn and insisted it truth.
Laurie had become another of her puzzles. His presence had long sent her heart into a flutter and her mind in a tussle. The two organs often fought with one another over their feelings for him but both agreed he was pleasing to look at and his nickname for her was most flattering. Had she not been so scared to mess up their friendship, Jude was certain she would have fallen to her heart's desire much faster. And her mind, which was just as nervous about what was fast coming in store for her future, finally agreed that maybe it was alright to see Laurie in the way Amy gushes about him.
If she were to build a life she would need a partner. One that would adore her flaws as well as her perfections, see past her beauty and love the person beneath. She had thought Laurie to have done that. It seemed so easy that way. He already adored her and she him but most importantly, he knew of her curse and appreciated her still. She doubted she'd ever find another to do the same.
It was no secret that she had been in love with the boy for a while now. Beth and Amy constantly jested about it despite Jude swearing the both of them into silence. It had been easy for her heart to fall for his tricks and sweet words. He had an effect on her none other had been able to entice, and she had seen many suitors over the past year. But Jude wasn't the only one to fall for their dearest friend. Jo had also taken quite a liking to the boy, one that appeared to extend much further than Jude once thought. She had been battling her own heart all this time so that Jo may hold back her anger toward her. But there was something in the way he looked at Jude that kept her clinging on and gave her an ounce of hope that just maybe he returned her feelings.
